


The warmth of a hug

by RainbowLSparrow



Series: Iruka Week 2021 [6]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Iruka Appreciation Week, Iruka Week 2021, Kid Umino Iruka, Self-Indulgent, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:21:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29933349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowLSparrow/pseuds/RainbowLSparrow
Summary: Story written for the second day of Iruka Week 2021.Day 2. BondsFrom the text:" For Iruka, feeling hot or cold was not just a matter of temperature, Iruka drew warmth from being close to others, from the happiness that sharing time with others gave him. "
Relationships: Sarutobi Hiruzen & Umino Iruka, Umino Iruka & his students
Series: Iruka Week 2021 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2193942
Kudos: 5
Collections: Iruka Week 2021





	The warmth of a hug

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Il calore di un abbraccio](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29931534) by [RainbowLSparrow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowLSparrow/pseuds/RainbowLSparrow). 



Iruka had always been hungry for affection in his life. As a child, as a teenager, as an adult ... Always! It was difficult for a person like him to live in a world like that. Family, friends, acquaintances ... Anyone could abandon you at any moment, in the most atrocious ways possible.

It had always been one of his greatest fears ever since he was very young, that of seeing his loved ones leave and never see them come back. And then one day he had seen that fear come true before his very eyes. He was a kid when his parents died and he was left alone and he felt cold.

For Iruka, feeling hot or cold was not just a matter of temperature, Iruka drew warmth from being close to others, from the happiness that sharing time with others gave him. When his parents died, for a certain period of time, there was no longer anyone to give him that warmth and he had been immersed in an icy and lonely cold for a long time.

For a long time, he had forgotten what it meant to bond with people. He always tried to be the center of attention, playing the clown, but he couldn't really get beyond that. It wasn't enough and he was afraid it would never be enough. He was always around people and yet he felt so lonely. He missed his parents, he missed their affection, their hugs, their support ...

He did everything so that no one would notice, but when he returned home and found himself alone, truly alone, he abandoned the mask at the entrance of the house, just as one leaves his shoes, and stopped pretending to be well, to be happy. Because he was not happy. Every now and then he slumped into a corner leaning against the wall and hugged his knees to his chest, a solitary hug, to prevent the little warmth he had at his disposal from dispersing. During the night he had begun to sleep in the room that had been his parents, immersed in their belongings and his memories.

A year had passed when things began to change. After so long, someone had forced him to open up. He hugged him and made him feel something again, something that wasn't pain. He had felt hope and a new fire breaking through him. It was weak, just a little light, but it was there and for that, he had to thank the Third Hokage.

His life started again from there, from that embrace, from that warmth. He began a slow process, rebuilt his relationships with others, and created new ones. He was no longer alone, he no longer needed to be a clown, he had real friends now, who genuinely cared about him. Finally, Iruka felt it again, the warmth. It felt so good to feel it again after such a long and unbearable year.

Perhaps that was also why he decided to become a teacher. He wanted to make sure that no one lacked that warmth, that no one would feel the pain of loneliness. It was something he wanted to pass on to future generations, and what better way than that.

Easier said than done in some cases, especially when his students at the academy included children like Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, not to mention Hinata and Neji Hyuga. No matter how much warmth he tried to give him, it would never be enough, as long as he would be the only one to provide that to them. Seeing them grow over the years filled him with joy, there was no lack of pain and loss, but those kids had changed their destiny and with that the world in which they lived. They had brought peace, and with that also love.

Iruka had always valued his bonds of affection, and this he had tried to convey to his students as best he could. 

Judging from the world they were living in now, that message had arrived and he was happy with this small, but at the same time great, personal achievement.


End file.
